Judith Berman Brandenburg Remembered

Milbank
Chapel was overflowing with friends, family, colleagues, and former
students of Professor Judith Berman Brandenburg, who passed away on
January 26 from colon cancer at age 61. They were there to memorialize
Brandenburg, who was a Professor of Psychology and Education and former
Academic Vice President and Dean of the College.

Acting
President Darlyne Bailey spoke on behalf of herself and President
Arthur Levine, who wrote a short letter for the service. Though Bailey
said she was not able to get to know Brandenburg very closely in the
short time they had worked together, she noted that Brandenburg "saw
gaining ground as a function of being a ground breaker." Brandenburg
was the first woman Academic Vice President and Dean of Teachers
College and Bailey is the first African-American woman to hold that
position.

Bailey
also quoted a passage from a letter written by Brandenburg as a
farewell from her position as Dean. It said, "I hope that by now I have
acquired and helped to shape a bit of institutional memory. I treasure
Teachers College and working with all of you."

President
Arthur Levine's letter expressed his profound sadness at the news of
her passing. He wrote: "No one gave me better counsel than Judith from
the moment I arrived at the College as she was leaving the Deanship
through our last meeting in the fall. She was fun to be with, unless I
disagreed with her. But other than that, she had been through
everything I had been through and knew the score and had the wisdom
that comes with distance."